5 Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards (0% APR + No Transfer Fee)

Choosing the Right Card

A balance transfer card is meant to save you money, so it is important to take everything into account before choosing one.

Here are somethings you need to keep in mind when shopping for one.

• Which card you intend transferring from?
  A very common practice among card issuing companies is that they don’t allow their credit holders to transfer their balance from one of their cards to another issued by them. It means you can’t transfer your dues from one Citi card to another Citi card. So, you’ll need to have credit cards from two or more different banks.
• Comparing APRs
  Whichever card you may choose, you’ll need to pay transfer fee. So, look for one that charges minimum and offers longest time for making your payments. The fee may vary from three to five percent.

The main benefit of balance transfer credit cards is that they help merging your balances from various credit cards to one card. Consequently, at the end of every month you pay all your creditors in one stroke.

Top 5 Balance Transfer Credit Cards with No Transfer Fees

There are many balance transfer cards on the market, each offering its exclusive features and designed to attract new customers with exciting introductory offers. But the following 5 are the top transfer credit cards with no transfer fee currently available in the market:

1. Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card

New members will find offers from the Citi® Diamond® Preferred card attractive. It makes a prolonged introductory balance transfer offer of eighteen months wherein they are not charged interest on balance transfers. Of course, the balance transfer fee of three percent needs consideration.

Though this card doesn’t carry any overgenerous features, it offers a 24/7 personal concierge that could be helpful for shopping.

Features:

• No annual fee is charged.
• For the initial eighteen months, new members pay 0% APR on balance transfers plus purchases.
• The 3% fee for balance is subject to a minimum of $5.
• APR varies from 11.99% to 21.99%*

2. Discover it® Card

The most attractive part of the offer from this card is 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for 14 months. Fee for balance transfer is three percent.

Though the Discover card is not as popular as others, its patrons are delighted by the outstanding services it offers.

It doesn’t charge you any annual fee or any fee for foreign transactions.  It also carries reward points for those who clear their debts fast.

Features:

• No annual fee is applicable.
• For the first eighteen months, new members pay 0% APR on balance transfers plus purchases.
• It charges balance transfer fee @ 3%
• It carries the usual variable APR of 10.99% to 22.99%*

3. Citi Simplicity® Card

Citi Simplicity® Card, true to its name, has a very utilitarian approach. It doesn’t charge you an annual fee. Additionally, you are not charged any late fee and there is no penalty imposed when you miss making a payment, allowing you to deal with your debt calmly.

There’s bonus for signing up. You are not required to pay interest on balance transfers or purchases for initial eighteen months.

Features:

• There is no annual fee
• For the initial eighteen months, new members pay 0% APR on balance transfers plus purchases.
• The 3% fee for balance is subject to a minimum of $5.
• Normally variable APR of 12.99% to 21.99%*
• They don’t charge late fees and there’s no penalty rate either.

4. Slate® From Chase

This card also doesn’t charge any annual fee and has an attractive introductory offer. Right now it offers 0% initial interest rate on balance transfer and doesn’t charge its patrons any balance transfer fee for the initial sixty days of signing.

New Slate card members are exempted from paying interest charges on consolidating their debts during the first fifteen months. They are not charged for transferring any high-interest debt on their hands.

Features:

• There’s no annual fee charged.
• There is no APR for initial 15 months on purchases and balance transfers.
• No balance transfer fee for transfers completed during the first 60 days of opening the account.
• It carries variable APR of 11.99% to 21.99%.

5. Capital One® Platinum Prestige Credit Card

This card comes with a 0% initial APR till May 2015 on balance transfers plus 0% initial APR until May 2015 on purchases. There is no annual fee but you are charged three percent balance transfer fee and there is fee for making transactions on any of its products.

Features:

• No annual fee is charged.
• The charge for balance transfer fee is three percent.
• Initial APR on all purchases until May 2015 is zero.
• No fees charged for foreign transactions.

Final Words

You should realize that an offer of 0% balance transfer is not a long lasting solution to the troubles of credit card debt. Though these help you in hours of crisis, you should learn to manage your personal funds.

Look for a card that will prove helpful in the long run. Though the key reason for patronizing such a card is to reduce your burden of interest, it’s worth considering the benefits and awards that come with different products.

If the deals from two companies are similar, it makes sense to opt for one that rewards you better.

You may like retaining it even after debt is cleared!

Another motive for doing it is that your credit score also partly takes into account the age of your accounts. The older the accounts, the more helpful it is for improving your credit score. That’s why it is not recommended to frequently open or close accounts.